Otezla® (apremilast) is approved for the treatment of patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis who are candidates for phototherapy or systemic therapy. Please click here for more information.

NAMCP Medical Directors Institute Releases New Dossier TemplatesThe NAMCP Medical Directors Institute has simultaneously released the NAMCP Medical Technologies Dossier Template and the NAMCP Medical Diagnostics Dossier Template, which provide medical directors and manufacturers with a dossier template formats for either medical devices or diagnostics that accounts for evidence-based development approaches and unique aspects of each of these technology types (instead of having to attempt to follow drug-based formats that are often not ideal for these types of health technologies). NAMCP developed this format at the request of its membership because a consistent format for presenting information about medical devices and diagnostics hasn't been made available to the managed care community.

Study: Gene for HDL cholesterol linked to longer lifeThe Washington PostA new study lends additional evidence to the likelihood that genes associated with high levels of the so-called good cholesterol appear to contribute to exceptionally long life expectancy and resistance to age-related disease.
Sofiya Milman , an assistant professor of medicine in geriatrics and endocrinology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, said her team’s findings could open the way to finding drugs that target the gene and mimic its functions, thereby extending life.

Study suggests a unified model for how DNA is read, offering insight into how genes evolveMedical XpressThere are roughly 20,000 genes and thousands of other regulatory "elements" stored within the 3 billion letters of the human genome. Genes encode information that is used to create proteins, while other genomic elements help regulate the activation of genes, among other tasks. Somehow all of this coded information within our DNA needs to be read by complex molecular machinery and transcribed into messages that can be used by our cells.

Genes contribute to behavior differences between fierce and friendly ratsPhys.orgAfter many generations, rats bred for their bad attitude behave differently from those selected for a calm demeanor around humans. Research published in the journal Genetics identifies gene regions that contribute to differences between nasty and nice rats in their behavior and the activity of genes in the brain. These results may provide important clues as to which genes make tame animals like dogs behave so differently from their wild ancestors.

Measure, Monitor Immunoglobulin Treatment OutcomesBioFeedback for immunoglobulin is a health outcomes reporting program that provides clinical feedback on the use of immunoglobulin in autoimmune-related disorders. Physicians and medical directors can now deploy clinical interventions when they have the greatest impact on healthcare quality and costs.

Despite personalized medicine potential, distrust lingers over Google's genome playMedCity NewsGoogle’s push into the genome storage and research market seems like a natural move to make personalized medicine a mainstream treatment option. And the price for storing genomic data has plummeted to a consumer friendly $25 per month. But comments in response to a recent article from MIT Technology Review illustrate the mixed feelings we have about the potential benefits and potential for abuse these businesses pose.

New hope for Parkinson's patients in stem cell treatmentThe Washington PostFor more than 30 years, stem cells have been the great hope of medical science. Given their remarkable ability to turn into any type of cell in the body, researchers have theorized that they could be used to treat and perhaps even cure all sorts of diseases and conditions from spinal cord injury to baldness.

Fighting HIV with stem cells and cutting-edge geneticsBioscience Technology“Berlin patient” Timothy Brown was cured of HIV after he received stem cells from a patient naturally immune to the disease. His story inspired two companies to try and recreate that natural immunity in HIV patients using stem cells and two gene-editing techniques. The approach has proven so popular that long before conclusive clinical trial results are due in, a third team has entered the fray: Harvard University.

InSightec - World Leader in MRgFUSMRgFUS is being used in clinics across America to treat uterine fibroids and pain palliation for metastatic bone tumors. It’s a completely non-invasive procedure performed on an outpatient basis where patients report an improvement in QoL within days, not weeks. Discover InSightec now.

EMERGING MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIES

Wearables market up 40 percent from 2013Healthcare InformaticsWearable sales are up 40 percent in the third quarter of 2014 — with global shipments totaling 12.7 million units — over the same quarter in 2013, according to new research from FutureSource Consulting.
“The wearables market is definitely one to watch, with our forecasts predicting sales of 52 million units across all wearable categories this year, up 32 percent from 2013," Oliver Rowntree, market analyst at FutureSource, said in a news release statement.

Legislation on medical innovation may keep IT loosely regulatedModern HealthcareA bill that would minimize federal regulation of health information technology for safety may be added to a bipartisan package of House legislation intended to spur medical innovation.
A modified version of the SOFTWARE Act is under consideration for the 21st Century Cures legislative package from the House Energy & Commerce Committee, a committee source confirmed.

Ranbaxy drops as FDA withdraws tentative approval for 2 drugsBloombergRanbaxy Laboratories Inc. fell the most in almost two months in Mumbai trading after U.S. regulators withdrew their tentative approval for its generic versions of the heartburn tablet Nexium and antiviral medicine Valcyte.
Ranbaxy dropped as much as 5.5 percent, the largest intraday decline since Sept. 11, and traded 4 percent lower at 629 rupees as of 9:19 a.m. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., which this year agreed to buy Ranbaxy, lost as much as 4.1 percent.

How the FDA can help smokers quitForbesIn 2009, when Congress gave the Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate the marketing of tobacco products, it gave the agency a great opportunity to expand the options for smokers trying to quit. How? By being able to claim certain products are safer than cigarettes.

FDA officials defend use of placebos during Ebola drug trialsLos Angeles TimesFDA officials speaking at a tropical medicine conference said experimental Ebola drugs should be tested in randomized controlled trials — a "gold standard" form of drug assessment that involves giving some ill patients a sham treatment, or placebo.
Addressing reporters at a session of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in New Orleans, U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials said randomized controlled trials were the only way to truly determine whether any of a number of experimental Ebola treatments were effective.

What's a practice to do about an ACO?MedPage Today"Accountable care organizations have been described as unicorns because none have been seen but everyone knows how to describe one," said Owen Dahl, an independent consultant for the Medical Group Management Association.
So, because we haven't seen this animal, does it mean that you can put off thinking about ACOs? Of course not — understanding and awareness of market changes just makes good business sense.

Two-midnight, pioneer ACO rules targeted by OIGHealthLeaders MediaThe Office of Inspector General's list of work projects for 2015 includes investigations based on risk assessments and reports indicating areas that "have been identified as significant management and performance challenges."
The impact of Medicare's two-midnight rule on both hospital billing practices and on beneficiaries, is among 26 new probe targets in the Office of Inspector General's 2015 Work Plan.

Should you roll the dice on a high-deductible health plan?U.S. News & World ReportA growing number of Americans are paying lower health insurance premiums in exchange for high deductibles, taking a gamble that saving money now won’t put them in a tough financial situation if they’re hit with high medical bills.
As we enter open enrollment season, it’s important to at least consider these low-premium plans to determine if the increasingly popular risk is right for you.

Estimated enrollees for 2015 healthcare decreaseThe Wall Street JournalThe Obama administration said it expects up to 9.9 million people to have coverage through the Affordable Care Act’s insurance exchanges in 2015, millions fewer than outside experts predicted.
The exchanges, which reopen for the law’s second year of insurance enrollment, previously were expected to enroll 13 million people for 2015, according to a projection by the Congressional Budget Office.

FAST FACTS"The largest waterborne disease outbreak in United States history occurred in 1993 in Milwaukee when over 400,000 people became ill with diarrhea when the parasite Cryptosporidium was found in the city's drinking water supply."

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